Zimm being Zimm...
On his job security:
Zimmer is 47-32-1 in the regular season and 1-2 in the postseason. He has two NFC North titles and a trip to the NFC Championship Game.
“All that stuff is out of my hands. I feel my winning percentage is 60 . I think Dennis Green’s might be 61 . Bud was 62 or 64 . And Jerry Burns was in the 50s . And those three guys are in the Vikings Ring of Honor. So, I feel like we’ve won quite a few games. But the job security thing really isn’t up to me. It’s up to others, I guess.”
• • •
On what made him think he and John DeFilippo actually could coexist last season:
The run-first coach fired his pass-heavy new coordinator 13 games into a disappointing season.
“I don’t really want to talk about him. I felt like he was a good coach. He is a good coach. I thought that would be a good fit when we decided to do it. But it just didn’t turn out that well. I hope he does good. I really do. I guess I wasn’t good enough in stressing how we win here, I guess is the best way to say it. And, in fairness to John, Tony [Sparano, the line coach who died on the eve of last year’s training camp] was a good sounding board to me, and he was a good sounding board to John as far as knowing the things I wanted.”
• • •
On whether he regrets releasing Carlson:
Last year’s fifth-round draft pick lasted two games before being released after missing three field-goal attempts in the 29-29 tie at Green Bay. As a Raider, Carlson made 16 of 17 attempts last year and seven of eight this preseason.
“He’s done good since he’s left. And maybe the pressure of being on a team that supposedly is going to the Super Bowl wasn’t the same as it was for him out there last year. So, I don’t know. In hindsight, 20-20, yeah, I probably should have kept him. But we did what we felt was right at that time. And he had missed some in the preseason and all that. So, we just felt like we can’t lose this season because of the kicking game.”
• • •
On kickers and how they’ve been his Achilles’ heel:
“The crazy thing is, OK, take a defensive back. Xavier Rhodes. I expect him to do his job. If he doesn’t do his job, I’m going to get after him. But like with kickers, they have the one job they have to do. And you expect that they better do their job. But if you say anything bad about kickers, you’re being mean or something like that. … So, I think it’s just the accountability of, ‘Hey, this is your job.’ And we understand they aren’t going to make every kick. But missing a 27-yarder in a playoff game? And the one at the end of Green Bay , which puts us in the playoffs? You know, it’s just frustrating.”
• • •
On the instability of the long snapper, holder, kicker and punter positions throughout training camp and the preseason:
“It probably wouldn’t have gotten to that point if we were making all the kicks and we felt the holds were good. It’s hard to tell. Was it the hold? Was it the snap? Because we had two snappers. … But, yeah, it is a little concerning,” Zimmer said during the Aug. 21 interview.
• • •
On this year’s offensive coaching staff:
Zimmer assured a like-minded offensive staff when he promoted Kevin Stefanski to coordinator and hired Gary Kubiak as assistant head coach/offensive consultant. Longtime Kubiak cohort Rick Dennison was a package deal as line coach and run-game coordinator.
“I understand preseason is preseason but when I’m on the headphones with the offense during the game, and I’m listening to the communication between Kevin and Gary and sometimes Dennison, it’s just like music to my ears. It’s like, ‘Man, the collaboration with these guys is outstanding.’ Kevin might want to run a play and Gary will say, ‘No, I don’t like that one.’ So calls something else. And Gary might suggest something and Kevin will say, ‘I’m really thinking about doing that later one so I’m calling this.’ The communication between those guys and even when they installed the system and went through every little detail, it’s just been really good. … I’m sure there are going to be some hiccups, but at least we have ways of guys to play fast. Not thinking too much and sitting there at the line of scrimmage and making checks and doing this and doing that. Just get up there and, ‘Let’s go, baby.’ ”
• • •
On what led him to Kubiak:
“I didn’t know Gary really well. I had heard from somebody that he said, ‘I’d really like to coach with Zim.’ And so that kind of got my ears perking a little bit. … I don’t think I’ve ever beaten him, but I always knew that that scheme was very, very difficult."
• • •
On what gives the Vikings so much faith in Kirk Cousins, whose career record is 34-38-2, including 0-1 in the playoffs:
“The biggest thing we felt like he was a very talented guy. He can throw the football. Good athlete. Really accurate. We felt like defensively we could help him. I went and saw him right after we signed him. He said, ‘What do you want me to do?’ I said, ‘I want you to be yourself. We have a good team around you. You don’t need to do anything crazy special. All you have to do is be yourself and that will be good enough for us.’ If we can play complementary football, I think that will play to his strengths. … I just feel we got away from last year. … At New England , we were averaging like 8 yards a carry. And we were throwing the heck out of the ball. And they’re up there in a three-down front with eight guys standing on the line of scrimmage trying to pressure us every snap because they knew we wouldn’t stick to the run.”
• • •
On whether he feels more pressure this season:
“I feel pressure every year. Do I feel more pressure? No. But I want to do good for the team and the franchise and the owners. I want to do good for them. But I don’t feel more pressure. I think I’m a pretty good coach. I’m at 60 percent and all that stuff and hopefully it goes higher this year. But I want to win for everybody else. I’m not worried about getting fired. I’m not worried about retiring. Nothing like that. I like this team.”
• • •
On how much longer the 63-year-old wants to coach:
“I honestly don’t know. I don’t even think about it. It’s hard to stop. I love teaching. I don’t like losing, so that might make you . And the grind is obviously hard. But it’s 16 weeks. Heck, anybody can do 16 weeks.”
• • •
http://www.startribune.com/vikings-season-preview-week-day-3/558349152/
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
That's a good way of saying it, PF... LOL
Honestly, I like Zimmer's press conferences. They are refreshing compared to most of the canned responses you get from other NFL Head Coaches. He will call himself out... I know that bothers some fans and makes them question if he is HC material, but I appreciate his brutal honesty and how he takes ownership of his mistakes.
@"Wetlander" said: That's a good way of saying it, PF... LOLHonestly, I like Zimmer's press conferences. They are refreshing compared to most of the canned responses you get from other NFL Head Coaches. He will call himself out... I know that bothers some fans and makes them question if he is HC material, but I appreciate his brutal honesty and how he takes ownership of his mistakes.
I agree, and it doesn't take a long memory to remember how bad things were before he came on board.
If this season blows up and they go 6-10, I think the Zimmer era will end. But I'm not to sure that means things would get better!
I appreciate his honesty and accountability. I just believe that if you screw up, own it and do better.
He's honest. You gotta give him that. I didn't like that he said the season was "only 16 weeks". No! The Packers' season is only 16 weeks. OUR season should be 18 or 19 weeks long!
@"Vikergirl" said: I appreciate his honesty and accountability. I just believe that if you screw up, own it and do better.^^^ this
Do questions get more confrontational? Holy shiiit....
Must have been "back to work Monday" at the Strib... jeeze...
(MAJOR props to Tom for not being this type)
@"BlackMagic7" said: Do questions get more confrontational? Holy shiiit....Must have been "back to work Monday" at the Strib... jeeze...
(MAJOR props to Tom for not being this type)
Tom is probably the only media member they DO want to talk to!
Maybe it's just me, but I find a HC giving his resume, twice, in one press conference to be bizarre.......and worrying. That's a strange response to a job security question (a fairly common question for a professional HC or manager to hear, btw). Simply say something like "I like our team and I think WE"LL do some damage in the playoffs this year. Everything else will sort itself out. It's out of my control aside from our production on the field". Done. On to the next question.
Also a little weird that he also rattled off his predecessors' winning %, (and quite accurately, too, I might add, for a supposed "off-the-cuff" remark). He must be feeling some heat from somewhere. Not sure if Dickey has already identified Zimmer as his next scapegoat, or if he's feeling some heat from the Jersey Boys, but there's definitely something going on behind the scenes, IMO. I don't claim to have an encyclopedic knowledge of NFL HC's press conferences, but I'm certain I've never heard great coaches cite their winning percentages like that. Oh well.
But Mikey : You DID forget another % that is kinda important....20%. As in your teams 1 playoff win in 5 years. I actually look at it as a 80% failure rate (but at least it's better than your boss' , 85%, so you got THAT going for ya!), but since he was only referencing win%, I stuck with that.
My sure-fire cure for that annoyance, Mike? WIN. Finish the 2019 season at 10-6 (@ 60%) or better, string together at least 2 playoff wins (last accomplished by Burnsie and his '87 squad) and I guarantee you that the talk of a hot-seat will vanish. But, come January 2020, if you think that whining about how your're just as good as Grant, Burns and Green with your whopping grand total of 1 miracle home playoff win is gonna cut it, you've got another think coming.
The crusty, ol', curmudgeonly, shoot-from-the-hip coach thing works......when your teams are successful in the post-season. Otherwise, you're just a ranting old man tired of the whole "Insta-tweet thingy", and hoping, most likely, hoping to latch onto another team as a DC or DB coach.
"Show us the baby", Mike. 6 seasons is an awfully long gestation period.
On kickers and how they’ve been his Achilles’ heel: And we understand they aren’t going to make every kick.........And the one at the end of Green Bay , which puts us in the playoffs? You know, it’s just frustrating.”
It's disappointing to hear him blame not making the playoffs on a missed kick in game two of season. If he wants to pick out one game, how about losing to Buffalo 27-6 at home or with needing a win at home in last game of season against Bears they didn't even show up and were really never in the game. There is enough blame to go around for not making the playoffs, but surely he is much more responsible than one missed kick, he rarely seemed to have this team ready for a big game.
blah blah blah. Seems so many forget the dark years that preceded the current regime.
@"greediron" said:Ummmm.... based on WHAT, exactly? REGULAR season wins or ultimately meaningless division "titles"? Or maybe you're one of those fans that gets excited about defensive ranking, number of Pro Bowlers, how many draft picks make the team, how far under the cap the billionaire owners are, how many yards the QB throws for, etc.. And that is fine. If that's how you perceive "success" in the NFL, god bless. My opinion? In ANY professional sports league, it's about the ultimate goal. A Championship.blah blah blah. Seems so many forget the dark years that preceded the current regime.
Tice : 4 (full seasons) Regular Season : 32-32, Playoffs 1-1 (including the BEST Viking win of this century, on the ROAD against GB and Favre). And since Vikings fans LOVE to qualify any and all stats, it should be noted that Tice did this under arguably the WORST owner in NFL history, or certainly in the discussion. I'm also pretty sure that Meathead had the fewest assistants on his staff at that time, and probably 30-40% fewer assistants than the Zimster has currently...including, of course, offensive "advisors" :o
Chilly : @4.5 Seasons .Regular Season : 39-35, Playoffs 1-2 (including an appearance in a road NFC title game, in OT, lost by 3 points, not 31 points). And it SHOULD be noted that Chilly accomplished this without the benefit of a GM. After all, Saint Ricky was ONLY VP of Player personnel during these dark times. He had NOTHING to do with the draft, free agency or roster cuts (including the drafting of the only slam-dunk HOF drafted by the Vikings this century, Adrian Peterson). It was ALL the CHILLSTER!
Chilly had an identical playoff record, and Tice's playoff winning percentage is better, albeit with 1 fewer game.
Mikey? No need to get into his regular season record, he covered that splendidly in his presser. Playoffs 1-2 (including an absolute miracle of a HOME win, a brutal home loss where the offense only managed 3 field goals and a complete and thorough ASS WHOOPING loss, to a backup QB and a 2nd year HC, by 31 points). And of course, Zimmer has had the benefit of the greatest GM in modern history assembling his roster, something NONE of the previous Vikings HC's were fortunate enough to experience. Frasier was a TOTAL money decision and really doesn't factor into the equation. Anyone who thought ownership was focusing on winning during Less' tenure is either naive or just plain stupid.
Advantage Mickey in the regular season (Yay!). Post season? Not so much.
Me likey when njvikey typey about Ricky and Mikey B)
@"njvike" said:@"greediron" said:blah blah blah. Seems so many forget the dark years that preceded the current regime.Ummmm.... based on WHAT, exactly? REGULAR season wins or ultimately meaningless division "titles"? Or maybe you're one of those fans that gets excited about defensive ranking, number of Pro Bowlers, how many draft picks make the team, how far under the cap the billionaire owners are, how many yards the QB throws for, etc.. And that is fine. If that's how you perceive "success" in the NFL, god bless. My opinion? In ANY professional sports league, it's about the ultimate goal. A Championship.Tice : 4 (full seasons) Regular Season : 32-32, Playoffs 1-1 (including the BEST Viking win of this century, on the ROAD against GB and Favre). And since Vikings fans LOVE to qualify any and all stats, it should be noted that Tice did this under arguably the WORST owner in NFL history, or certainly in the discussion. I'm also pretty sure that Meathead had the fewest assistants on his staff at that time, and probably 30-40% fewer assistants than the Zimster has currently...including, of course, offensive "advisors" :o
Chilly : @4.5 Seasons .Regular Season : 39-35, Playoffs 1-2 (including an appearance in a road NFC title game lost by 3 points, not 31 points). And it SHOULD be noted that Chilly accomplished this without the benefit of a GM. After all, Saint Ricky was ONLY VP of Player personnel during these dark times. He had NOTHING to do with the draft, free agency or roster cuts (including the drafting of the only slam-dunk HOF drafted by the Vikings this century, Adrian Peterson). It was ALL the CHILLSTER!
Chilly had an identical playoff record, and Tice's playoff winning percentage is better, albeit with 1 fewer game.
Mikey? No need to get into his regular season record, he covered that splendidly in his presser. Playoffs 1-2 (including an absolute miracle of a HOME win, a brutal home loss where the offense only managed 3 field goals and a complete and thorough ASS WHOOPING loss, to a backup QB and a 2nd year HC, by 31 points). And of course, Zimmer has had the benefit of the greatest GM in modern history assembling his roster, something NONE of the previous Vikings HC's were fortunate enough to experience. Frasier was a TOTAL money decision and really doesn't factor into the equation. Anyone who thought ownership was focusing on winning during Less' tenure is either naive or just plain stupid.
Advantage Mickey in the regular season (Yay!). Post season? Not so much.
Based on reality.
I liked Tice, but he was in over his head. Ownership didn't do him any favors, but he was a great O-line coach. .Childress was brought in to bring order after the love boat days of Tice. But as he was a fraud and bent his own rules once he felt the pressure of winning. He also left the cupboard pretty bare.
Frazier was a Childress left-over. Will have to watch the tape, but pretty sure he sucked worse.
Zimmer. Needs to win, and win in the playoffs. He has dealt with some real issues that have held the team back, but he has the confidence of the team and consistently fields a great defense. The one year he had an offensive coordinator, he was on another BACKUP QB, and made it to the NFCCG. Your brutal home loss was anything but brutal, except for the weather and Shank Walsh.Oh, and you BACKUP QB and 2nd YEAR HEAD COACH won a superbowl, beating the invincible BB and Brady!
Honestly I don't think there's any heat on Zimmer. 10-6 and a playoff win will will keep him here because Wilf just isn't prone to radical change, never has been. And he and Spielman are tied at the hip. This team is perfectly capable of achieving that.
The real heat is on Cousins because if it goes sideways it will be his mistakes and shortcomings at the heart of the failure, imho. They will be looking at year 3 of his contract and scrambling to find a way forward with someone else.
@"comet52" said: Honestly I don't think there's any heat on Zimmer. 10-6 and a playoff win will will keep him here because Wilf just isn't prone to radical change, never has been. And he and Spielman are tied at the hip. This team is perfectly capable of achieving that.The real heat is on Cousins because if it goes sideways it will be his mistakes and shortcomings at the heart of the failure, imho. They will be looking at year 3 of his contract and scrambling to find a way forward with someone else.
I think the bolded is the key. That and a one year extension for both Rick and Zim tells part of the story. They need a good year 8-8 or worse and they are both gone.
@"comet52" said: Honestly I don't think there's any heat on Zimmer. 10-6 and a playoff win will will keep him here because Wilf just isn't prone to radical change, never has been. And he and Spielman are tied at the hip. This team is perfectly capable of achieving that.The real heat is on Cousins because if it goes sideways it will be his mistakes and shortcomings at the heart of the failure, imho. They will be looking at year 3 of his contract and scrambling to find a way forward with someone else.
considering the eggs that the defense has laid at times I think its hard to say what could lead to a failure, but if it happens regardless of who is to blame i would think RS and MZ would be gone. Hard to hand extensions to a GM and Coach coming off 2 consecutive failed seasons.
@"greediron" said:@"njvike" said:Based on reality. I liked Tice, but he was in over his head. Ownership didn't do him any favors, but he was a great O-line coach. .Childress was brought in to bring order after the love boat days of Tice. But as he was a fraud and bent his own rules once he felt the pressure of winning. He also left the cupboard pretty bare.
Frazier was a Childress left-over. Will have to watch the tape, but pretty sure he sucked worse.
Zimmer. Needs to win, and win in the playoffs. He has dealt with some real issues that have held the team back, but he has the confidence of the team and consistently fields a great defense. The one year he had an offensive coordinator, he was on another BACKUP QB, and made it to the NFCCG. Your brutal home loss was anything but brutal, except for the weather and Shank Walsh.Oh, and you BACKUP QB and 2nd YEAR HEAD COACH won a superbowl, beating the invincible BB and Brady!
Chilly in 4.5 seasons : 1-2 in the Playoffs, 1 NFCC road appearance (lost in OT by 3)
Zimmer in 5 seasons : 1-2 in the Playoffs, 1 NFCC road appearance (crushed by 31, game over at halftime)Seems almost identical to me.....with the exception of one NFCC game being competitive and the other, well, not so much.
And mentioning the BB and Brady combo in a comparison with Zimmer and Cousins is beyond laughable, even for you. But, if you insist, how did BB and Brady respond to that SB defeat the following season? Oh, yeah....They won their 6th Championship in 9 appearances since 2000.
How did Zimmer and (insert Viking QB flavor of the year here) respond to THEIR humiliating defeat? Oh, yeah. They pissed down their leg in the final game of the season (at home) and failed to make the playoffs. That's really an apples to apples comparison. Good job.
@"njvike" said:@"greediron" said:@"njvike" said:Based on reality. I liked Tice, but he was in over his head. Ownership didn't do him any favors, but he was a great O-line coach. .Childress was brought in to bring order after the love boat days of Tice. But as he was a fraud and bent his own rules once he felt the pressure of winning. He also left the cupboard pretty bare.
Frazier was a Childress left-over. Will have to watch the tape, but pretty sure he sucked worse.
Zimmer. Needs to win, and win in the playoffs. He has dealt with some real issues that have held the team back, but he has the confidence of the team and consistently fields a great defense. The one year he had an offensive coordinator, he was on another BACKUP QB, and made it to the NFCCG. Your brutal home loss was anything but brutal, except for the weather and Shank Walsh.Oh, and you BACKUP QB and 2nd YEAR HEAD COACH won a superbowl, beating the invincible BB and Brady!
Chilly in 4.5 seasons : 1-2 in the Playoffs, 1 NFCC road appearance (lost in OT by 3)
Zimmer in 5 seasons : 1-2 in the Playoffs, 1 NFCC road appearance (crushed by 31, game over at halftime)Seems almost identical to me.....with the exception of one NFCC game being competitive and the other, well, not so much.
And mentioning the BB and Brady combo in a comparison with Zimmer and Cousins is beyond laughable, even for you. But, if you insist, how did BB and Brady respond to that SB defeat the following season? Oh, yeah....They won their 6th Championship in 9 appearances since 2000.
How did Zimmer and (insert Viking QB flavor of the year here) respond to THEIR humiliating defeat? Oh, yeah. They pissed down their leg in the final game of the season (at home) and failed to make the playoffs. That's really an apples to apples comparison. Good job.
Not sure why I even respond as your bit is mostly trolling.
I didn't compare Billicheat and Brady to Zimmer and Cousins. I merely pointed out that the QB and coach you denigrated as subpar went on to beat the Patriots in the superbowl. The eagles and Foles had some magic going on that year, part of it was changing their offense in the playoffs to better suit Foles and that made it very difficult to game plan for.
Oh and the following year. Our OC got poached for a head coaching job. NE's OC turned down a HC job to stay there. So yeah, the following year was a bit different. One team had the continuity they have had for many years, BIllicheat, Brady and McDaniels. What did we have? Zimmer, new QB, new failure of an OC, lost our line coach/run game coordinator.
Talk about apples. You wouldn't know an apple if it fell on your head.
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